Gives Me Hope
by Loony4moony816
Summary: How Noah Puckerman is a sweetheart


For Puck, this Glee rehearsal was simply not up-to-par. Rachel sang background without complaint. Mercedes and Santana took leads humbly and quietly. Finn and Quinn talked about school, disregarding all mentions of the baby and the fact that they were no longer together. Brittany concentrated on the dance Mr. Schuester was teaching them, leaving no time for hilarious and unfortunate moments that highlighted her lack of intelligence.

The most disappointing, however, had to be Kurt, who, rather than sit in the corner and criticize the top Tina was wearing or discussing the newest and juiciest school gossip involving Ms. Pillsbury, Coach Ken, and three of the school lunch ladies, was examining his iPhone with great effort.

No, this wasn't a good rehearsal at all. In Puck's humble opinion, what was the point of hanging around the freaks and geeks of the school if they weren't going to fulfill their nerdly duty to entertain him?

A minute later, Mr. Schue dismisses them with the words, "Great job, guys. See you next week for the ensemble piece! Remember, bring your enthusiasm, Bon Jovi isn't meant to be performed half-heartedly."

In response, Puck mutters, "Yeah, Bon Jovi isn't meant to be performed _at all_." He grins at his own remark, turning himself toward Kurt, readying himself for the soprano's self-righteous rant at Puck's lack of Bon Jovi appreciation.

In the past couple of months, Puck has come to the conclusion that an angry or annoyed Kurt Hummel was an amusing (and not to mention, _cute as hell_) Kurt Hummel. Puck loved how the blood rushed to Kurt's cheeks as he flushed in righteous anger. His green eyes narrowed in annoyance and his tongue made a quick sweep over his full lips before his voice went into lecture mode, taking on a tone several octaves higher that his normal speech (Puck was sure that a two year old girl couldn't compare). All in all, Kurt Hummel was pretty damn attractive when angered.

Which is why Puck was sorely disappointed when he got absolutely no reaction from Kurt. In fact, the male diva didn't even look up from his phone. His only movement was to swipe at his eyes. Wait, Kurt was crying?

Puck nudged Mercedes as she was packing up her stuff. Nodding his head toward Kurt, he silently asked her about what was going on.

Mercedes shook her head, "Kurt's on that website again." At Puck's quizzical look, she clarified, ". You know, ? It has all these stories that people post about their lives. It's supposed to be a way of showing people that the world has some good in it."

"So why is Hummel on it?"

Mercedes' look was incredulous, "You don't know why my boy needs reassurance that the world isn't the hellhole most believe it is? Seriously? Boy, you be trippin'."

And with that, she flounced over to her best friend, chatting away about mall trips and skinny jeans.

* * *

That night, Puck did some research on the Internet.

* * *

One week later, the Glee club was in frenzy.

"Did you _see_ the football team this morning?"

"What the heck were they thinking?"

Kurt walked in, runway strut more prominent than ever. Sauntering over to Mercedes, he took in the excitement of his fellow gleeks.

"Hey, 'Cedes. Sorry I missed our lunch date, I had an orthodontist appointment."

"Boy, you missed out on the football team!"

"What did those gorillas do now?"

Before Mercedes could answer, Puck, Finn, Mike, and Matt walked in. Kurt gasped. "What did you guys _do_?"

The boys in question stood proudly in front of the club, heads completely shaven. Finn stepped forward, "We shaved our heads because our tight end has cancer and his hair fell out."

Rachel squealed and ran to him, hugging him tightly around the waist. Kurt all but melted, tears forming in his eyes, "You guys a-are s-something e-else."

The boys shrugged off the compliment, but their faces lit with pleased smiles. Mr. Schue came in, barely took in the four cueballs, and started rehearsal.

When rehearsal was over, Puck practically ran out of the room. Kurt, who was planning on thanking Finn for his sweet actions, stopped to listen to the hushed conversation that was occurring between the football players.

"What's up with Puck, Finn?"

"I don't know, man, he's acting pretty weird."

"Two days I saw him coming out of the _girl's_ bathroom. I figured he was having a quickie, but I waited and no girl came out. So I went in to see if there was anything strange. There was a post-it on the mirror that said, 'Smile. You're beautiful.'"

"No _way _Puckerman was behind that!"

"Matt, I was at the mall yesterday with my mom buying clothes and I saw Puck. He was fooling around with those gumball machines in the middle of the mall. After he left, I checked it out and every single one of those machines had a quarter in it!"

"Yeah, and this shaved head thing _was_ his idea!"

Kurt gasped. This was starting to sound familiar. Making excuses to Mercedes, he left to find Puck.

Who was placing pennies on the floor of the hallway. Upon closer inspection, Kurt confirmed his suspicions. The pennies were all faced up. Kurt cleared his throat.

Puck looked up and, upon seeing Kurt standing in front of him, blushed and sheepishly stood up. He went to run a hand through his Mohawk before remembering. Kurt hid his smile behind his hand.

"I, uh, I was just—"

"Placing the pennies face-up so that everyone could have good luck?"

Puck flushed darker. His gaze was on the floor, where he shifted his feet back and forth, "Uh, yeah."

After an awkward silence, Puck spoke up again, "Uh, look, Hummel. I know it's not original, but I thought copying other people's good deeds was better than trying and screwing it up myself." He got defensive, "Besides, I do good stuff all the time. I might be a bastard to you—before, I mean—but I buy groceries for all the old women in my synagogue and I give food to Patches all the time and make sure no one messes with Becky—"

Puck was cut off by Kurt's lips on his. He groaned at the sensation of soft lips on his own, but before he could really get into the kiss, Kurt pulled back and Puck had his first good look of his beautiful green eyes.

"Why?"

"Because this world sucks, but I'll make it as good for you as I can. Because I want to give you hope the same way you gave me hope."

"I gave you hope?"

"Everyday, you walk around this school like you own it; like everyone means nothing because you're getting out of this cow town. You tell us jackasses that we'll work for you someday, but still help us win the only game we ever won. You gave up that solo for your dad—oh, don't look so shocked. Anyone with an ear can hear you hit that note in everyday speech."

Kurt shook his head, his face stretched in a fond smile. Looking up into Puck's face, he grinned, "Today, I went into school to find out my former tormentor actually has a heart of gold and tried to change the world for me. That guy is my new boyfriend. He gives me hope."

Puck finally got his proper kiss. Kurt Hummel gives him hope. Kurt Hummel's lips give him heart palpitations.


End file.
